ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS:
Food Marketing Institute (FMI), Arlington, Va.
Peter Matz was appointed director, food and health policy. Matz will lead issue development and advocacy efforts in the food and health legislative areas. He maintains a diverse background in legislative and regulatory strategy as well as communications, having spent the past decade at OFW Law as a government relations advisor, where he guided regulatory affairs and legislative strategies for companies and trade associations across the food, beverage and agriculture sectors.

PROCESSORS/RETAILERS/DISTRIBUTORS:
WinCo Foods, Boise, Idaho
Grant Haag was appointed president and will take over as chief executive officer when current CEO, Steven Goddard, officially steps down next year. Haag is a 34-year veteran of WinCo Foods, having served in several positions, including produce department manager, Northwest division/Oregon produce supervisor, vice president of produce operations and district manager, Northwest division. In September 2015, Haag was appointed to his current position of senior vice president of department operations. Haag also serves on the board of directors for the WinCo Foods Foundation and the Oregon Executive Committee for the "City of Hope" charity foundation.

Joyce Farms, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Allen Williams, chief ranching officer, was tapped to lead the company’s new regenerative agriculture program. Williams maintains vast knowledge in animal genetics, humane animal care, holistic land management and environmental stewardship, and is an expert on soil health and cutting-edge grazing methodology. He also serves on the board of directors of the Grass Fed Exchange and the Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture Network, and is a core team member of The Pasture Project, a partner in Soil Health Consulting, LLC and a co-investigator for Team SoilCarbon.

Allen Harim, LLC, Seaford, Del.
Meat industry veteran Kyle Richard joined as new senior vice president of sales and marketing, effective April 30. Richard has spent his entire career in various sales roles at major companies, starting in 2001 at Gold Kist Inc., which was eventually purchased by Pilgrim’s Pride. In 2004, he moved to Mountaire Farms, where he spent 11 years working his way from regional sales manager to director of sales. His career then led him to Pilgrim’s Pride as senior vice president of sales. He most recently served as executive vice president of sales and marketing at Chicago Meat Authority.

The Four Seasons Family of Cos., Ephrata, Pa.
Current general manager, Jason Hollinger, will transition into his new role as president, effective May 1. Hollinger began his career at Four Seasons in 1999 as an organic buyer before becoming the director of buying, and later, the general manager. Jonathan Steffy, current director of sales, will take over as vice president and general manager. Steffy started in 2000 as a pricing coordinator before moving to lead retail sales representative, foodservice sales manager, retail and wholesale sales manager, and most recently, director of sales and retail services. Wayne Hendrickson was named director of sales. Hendrickson began as a wholesale sales representative in 2007, and took over the wholesales sales manager position in 2014. Traci Sensenig was appointed wholesale sales manager. Sensenig began at Four Seasons in 2002, having worked in a variety of areas, most recently as a wholesale sales representative. Daniel Quier now serves as retail sales manager. Quier has worked at Four Seasons since 2006, holding a number of positions, including retail sales representative, pricing coordinator and senior pricing and programs coordinator. Bruce Meidinger took over as retail services manager, effective Jan. 1. Meidinger began as a merchandiser in 2015. Virginia “Ginny” Williams assumed the role of business development manager, also effective Jan. 1. Beginning in 2005, Williams worked as an officer manager, before transferring to work in sales for Four Seasons’ sister company, Earth Source Trading. In 2013, she moved back to Four Seasons as senior business development manager.

Teton Waters Ranch, Denver, Colo.
Mike Murray was named chief executive officer, responsible for leading the company through the next phase of growth by building a strong brand, broadening availability and spearheading innovation. Murray was most recently chief executive officer of free2b Foods, where he created and executed a new vision and strategic growth plan for the company. Previously, Murray led So Delicious Dairy Free, now part of Danone N.A., and spent 10 years with General Mills, growing several brands, including Betty Crocker, Nature Valley and LARABAR.

Blue Star Foods, Miami, Fla.
Jacob Valleau was named business development manager, a hybrid role that utilizes his previous experience in sustainable seafood and social media content generation. Valleau previously worked at Rubicon Resources, a division of High Liner Foods.

WPD (formerly West Pico Distributors), Vernon, Calif., and Kayco, Bayonne, N.J.
Joe Jenio was named new director of operations, responsible for all phases of plant operations, including transportation, inventory control, procurement and customer service. Jenio maintains more than 30 years’ experience in supply chain, logistics and operations management, and has spent time with NAL Worldwide, California Distribution and Moduslink.

NewLeaf Symbiotics, St. Louis, Mo.
Allison Jack joined as the biotic stress team lead, tasked with developing and leading novel research activities aimed at understanding host-pathogen interactions and mitigation of biotic stress by beneficial microbes. Jack comes from the discovery team at Indigo Ag, Inc., where she was a scientist II. She maintains a research background in biological control of seed and seedling diseases and the microbial ecology of disease suppressive soils and composts. Meanwhile, Dayna Collett was named a field biologist, charged with assisting in agronomy research and development of beneficial bacteria for increased plant health, pest mitigation and nutrient optimization. Collett has developed independent research focusing on insect-plant interactions, and designed and performed bioassays regarding aphid-plant interaction.

Mission Produce, Oxnard, Calif.
Vincenzo Salento was named sales operations manager in Europe, responsible for formulating and executing sales plans and managing the sales support staff in the company’s Breda, The Netherlands, facility. Salento brings more than 20 years of sales operations management experience, most recently with Milano Fresh in Italy. In addition, he maintains experience in telecom and renewable energy.

FOODSERVICE:
Cara Operations Ltd., Canada
Frank Hennessey was appointed chief executive officer, taking over for Bill Gregson, who will take on the role of executive chairman of the board, both effective May 10. Hennessey is a seasoned restaurant executive with 31 years of restaurant, food manufacturing and grocery retail experience. Most recently, Hennessey was president and CEO of Imvescor Restaurant Group, where he turned the company around, grew sales and increased shareholder value. Prior to that, he was president and CEO of Bento Sushi. Since October 31, 2013, Gregson has been chief executive officer and chairman of the board.

MTY Food Group Inc., Canada
Eric Lefebvre will become chief executive officer, taking over for Stanley Ma, founder, who announced plans to step down as chief executive officer, effective Nov. 2. Lefebvre joined the company in 2009 as vice president and controller. He was promoted to his current role of chief financial officer in 2012. Lefebvre played an active role in the steady growth of MTY, from 1,570 locations and $22 million to today’s approximately 5,700 locations and $130 million in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, Claude St-Pierre will also be stepping down from her role as chief operating officer, effective Nov. 2, to concentrate on the execution of the company's acquisition strategy. 

Boston Market, Boston, Mass.
Frances Allen was named chief executive officer, effective immediately, succeeding George Michel upon his retirement. Allen maintains experience in concept revitalization and growth in the restaurant industry. She has served as president of Jack in the Box since October 2014. Prior to that, she spent 4 years as executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Denny’s, helping lead the company’s turnaround through the “America’s Diner” repositioning. Prior to that, she played a pivotal role elevating the Dunkin’ Donuts brand into a national brand. She has also held leadership roles with Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, PepsiCo and Frito-Lay.

Subway, Milford, Conn.
Suzanne Greco announced her intent to retire as chief executive officer, effective June 30. Trevor Haynes, chief business development officer, was appointed interim CEO, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company, effective immediately. Greco, who has been CEO since 2015, joined the company in 1973 as a sandwich artist, and has been an integral part of the company since the first store opened as a family business in 1965. Prior to her role as CEO, she was part of the research and development team for over two decades, and was promoted to lead the group as vice president of operations and research and development in 2013. Haynes joined Subway in 2006 as territory manager in Australia, moved to the United Kingdom in 2009 to serve as senior area development manager for the UK and Ireland, and in 2014, joined the headquarters’ team to serve as global director of operations.

SUPPLIERS:
SPX FLOW, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.
Tyrone (Ty) Jeffers joined as vice president, global manufacturing and supply chain, succeeding David Kowalski, president, global manufacturing operations, who plans to retire in the second half of 2018. In his new role, Jeffers will be responsible for improving overall operational effectiveness, increasing productivity and working closely with the company's global process excellence team to drive continuous improvement. Jeffers most recently served as vice president of infrastructure management and supply chain integration for General Electric's Baker Hughes business. He began his GE career in 1996, and served in a variety of general management, manufacturing and supply chain roles, including general manager, global supply chain for GE Process & Flow Technologies, where he led up to 31 manufacturing facilities in eight countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

AFFLINK, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Amy MacDonald was promoted to vice president, packaging, replacing Ron Moyer, who is retiring. MacDonald maintains over 25 years of management experience, holding executive positions with Pitney Bowes, Corporate Express, International Paper (xpedx) and SupplyOne. She has spent the 11 years focused on industrial packaging and food packaging.

FedEx Freight, subsidiary of FedEx Corp., Memphis, Tenn.
John Smith was named president and CEO, effective Aug. 16, succeeding Michael Ducker, whose pending retirement was announced earlier this month. Smith, a 32-year veteran of the transportation industry, joined FedEx in 2000 as senior vice president of operations. His experience spans every area of the business, including operations, sales, transportation, fleet maintenance, facility services and safety. Along with being responsible for the leadership and direction of FedEx Freight, he will also serve on FedEx’s strategic management committee. Meanwhile, Matthew Thornton III will become executive vice president and COO, responsible for overseeing all operations for FedEx Freight. Thornton III, a 40-year FedEx team member, was named senior vice president of U.S. operations. His experience includes leading diverse teams and maintaining knowledge of global operations.

KHS, Germany
Professor E.h. Dr.-Ing. Johann Grabenweger, responsible for sales and service, announced plans to leave the company after 13 years of service. Grabenweger also worked in production, research and development. Burkhard Becker, chairman, will assume responsibility for the sales and service division on an interim basis.

tna, Dallas, Texas
Tom McPhee was appointed to the newly-created position of group technical support manager, responsible for coordinating and developing tna’s growing global technical support teams, including the company’s after-market service division. McPhee maintains over 20 years of technical service experience, ranging from technical support roles in the UK, Asia and Middle East to global service management positions in the UK and the United States. He’s previously worked at TAP Biosystems and Mettler Toledo.